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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22739620">Landscape</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_princess/pseuds/soft_princess'>soft_princess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dreamland AU [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - No Powers, Community: slash_100, Community: summer_of_giles, M/M, Polyamory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2006-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2006-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>818</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22739620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_princess/pseuds/soft_princess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"How did you meet Cordelia, again?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cordelia Chase &amp; Xander Harris, Rupert Giles/Xander Harris/Wesley Wyndam-Pryce</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dreamland AU [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625497</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Landscape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for summer_of_giles &amp; slash_100<br/>Prompt: 012 - Enemies<br/><br/></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>***</p>
<p>Xander closed his book, pushed his reading glasses up on his nose and reached for his pen.<br/>
<br/>
"Xander? Are you coming down for dinner?" Giles' voice reached up the stairs and Xander smiled.<br/>
<br/>
"Can you bring me a plate upstairs? I'm starving, but I have to finish these plans for tomorrow. Cordelia wants them first thing in the morning." For the thousandth time, Xander wondered why he'd agreed to work for his former high school nemesis. It wasn't like they'd ever <i>talked</i> before-except for that one time where they had, accidentally, fallen into each other in the janitor's closet, and they'd never spoken of it again, which was truly a blessing Xander thanked God every day for, because he had no intention of remembering <i>that</i> mistake, ever- but apparently, his reputation was so good that even Cordelia Chase was ready to bury the hatchet-at least long enough for Xander to design her soon-to-be-opened beauty parlor.<br/>
<br/>
Giles didn't answer, but Xander knew he would do it. For some reason, Giles and Wesley were both ready to do his every whim, and that made Xander smile. It was still so new, so insane, and after that first night, Xander loved every minute of the insanity. A month in, and he'd already moved in, and it was like he'd always belonged there in their house, and whenever they touched him or looked at him, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.<br/>
<br/>
Xander sighed happily, hunching over his drawing board, quickly finishing up what would be the reception desk. "That works," he muttered happily, moving on to the next piece he'd been working on.<br/>
<br/>
"Xander?" Giles' voice startled Xander and he looked up, blinking.<br/>
<br/>
Giles smiled at him, and for the-really insane number-th-time Xander realized he was, yet again, the recipient of the Secret Smile<sup>tm</sup> and it made him blush, wondering again what he'd done to deserve this. "Hey, sorry, I was-"<br/>
<br/>
"Lost to the world, again." Giles put Xander's plate and glass down on the desk by the door, and moved to sit on the only other chair in the room.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," Xander smiled. "You're going to watch me work?" Wesley did, sometimes. He'd bring a book and a good pillow and sit on the floor to read while Xander worked. But Giles never did. He complained that his back couldn't handle sitting on the floor, or sitting on the chair for more than a few minutes at a time.<br/>
<br/>
Giles reached out to touch Xander's hand. "When you agree to move your office into the room at the front of the house, then I will indulge myself, yes. This room is far too small to put a comfortable chair in."<br/>
<br/>
And it was true. With all of Xander's equipment, there wasn't much room to move around or put any other furniture in, which was why Wesley had to sit on the floor, and the only other available chair was a tiny thing that really wasn't worth the name of chair. But the other room was Giles' office, and Xander felt guilty at the idea of pushing him out, so he'd assured them he was fine with the smaller, closet sized room, and hadn't backed out even when it had been obvious the room was too small.<br/>
<br/>
"Xander," Giles said, squeezing Xander's fingers. "Would you agree to it if I'd simply made room enough for you without moving my office into here? We could move the bookshelves here, make this our library. And there would be more than enough space for your things in my office then."<br/>
<br/>
Xander shook his head. "You'd be in here all the time. I've seen you prepare for a class, you're always going from one book to an other, it would be more hassle for you. I'm fine here."<br/>
<br/>
Giles shook his head in defeat, as if he already knew it was a lost argument. "All right. Now eat your supper. I'm only staying to make sure you're not forgetting to eat. I have to revise tomorrow's course outline." He smiled. "I might even give them a surprise quiz."<br/>
<br/>
Xander groaned. "I hated those."<br/>
<br/>
Giles laughed, bringing Xander's hand to his lips. "I'm glad you've found something you enjoy doing. You were floundering in my class, and I'd assume it was more of the same in every other classes you took."<br/>
<br/>
Xander smiled, rolling his chair closer to Giles so he could steal a kiss. "Your class was the only one I never missed." He leaned closer to Giles' ear. "The daydreams were very entertaining." He quirked his eyebrows, as he rolled away towards the desk.<br/>
<br/>
Giles shook his head at him. "How did you meet Cordelia, again? I know you've told Wesley all about her, but I've yet to hear the story."<br/>
<br/>
"And what an interesting story it is! It all started when I was five,<br/>
and Willow and I started pre-school..."<br/>
<br/>
</p>
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